Wigan Album

i believe they are opening shops again ? .

We used to meet opposite in a shop doorway. I think it was boots.

The Wonder of Woolies.

By
Tom Walsh.

After studying the aerial photograph of Wigan Town Centre in the Observer a few weeks ago I am sure along with many readers I started to go down Memory Lane . Woolworths standing in the middle of the picture guarding the town like a grandmother. It prompted me to look back to its heyday and the void it left when it closed . Thanks to Garry Brunskill for unearthing this gem .


The wonder of Woolworths , so the advert used to go and to umpteen number of of Wigan folk this was exactly what it was - wonderful .  Frank Winfield Woolworth was born on April 13th, 1852 in Rodman, New York. He and his brother Charles Sumner Woolworth. were  to become founders of a retail dynasty. I doubt if as young entrepreneurs the brothers even knew of the existence of Wigan, a market town 3,318 miles from their birth place or that as their novel retail idea 'Nothing Over 6d' ( two and a half pence £ 2-80p in today's money)  would become such an icon of Wigan Town Centre. F W Woolworth opened in Wigan on 20 October 1927 converted from The Royal Hotel and quickly became an integral part of our town . I wonder how many marriages in Wigan came about because of a first date, meeting on Woolworths corner, a favourite meeting point after a first encounter at the Empress Ballroom the previous Saturday.

Incidentally the first store in the UK was opened in Church Street Liverpool on 5th of November 1909 . Wigan was the 187th store , that was a remarkable rate of expansion by any standards. Particularly taking into account the slower communications available. In 1909 telephones were in their infancy , a letter from The USA to The UK would take weeks. The first transatlantic telephone call was on January 7th 1927, almost impossible to comprehend in todays instantaneous world.

To the surprise of many I'm sure , Wigan and District had a second Woolworths , situated at 64 Market Street Hindley this much smaller branch opened on 10th of May 1935 and closed sometime between 1974 -1977 . It was a purpose built store, The building, now a bookmakers, has had an extra floor added above the old flat roof, but retains the distinctive Woolworth parapet wall above the first floor windows which appeared on many of the self-built stores of the Twenties and Thirties.

No visit to Wigan was complete without a visit to ' Woolies ' in my young days the formate was a series of stalls each with its own till, you would get the assistants attention by calling 'Miss' . There were stalls of every kind , so varied it was like a mini Trafford Centre ! An example, hardware - selling everything from Fire Bottoms to ' Blowers ' a metal sheet with a handle used to block the fire opening to create a draught under skilfully laid coal and twisted newspaper, for those unable to get the fire going using this method you could buy a gas poker a contraption that would be placed into the heart of the ensemble until the coal combusted , today this implement would be illegal. For for those with the wherewithal an 'all-night burner ' the ultimate luxury. this was fitted in the opening under the fire and could be used to minimise the draught enabling the fire to remain alight until morning , this was helped by 'raking 'the fire, putting ashes on top of the fire to dampen it; the rake similar to a croupier implement could also be purchased from this 'stall ' Also own brand paint my uncle wouldn't use it he said it was watery and took ages to dry ,this after my Aunty ruined a cardigan on a door painted days before !

The Toffee stall, the second favourite of children, selling all kinds sweets from pear drops to nougat, pronounced by most as 'nuggit' not many knew very much about French pronunciation , I certainly didn't and often choose ' nuggit' as my Saturday treat as it was very ' chewy ' and consequently lasted a long time ! A chocolate bar was a no -no, for me as that would have been consumed before I'd reached the main door. There was great excitement when something new arrived on this stall , a large glass container with a light above , hot cashew nuts had come to Wigan , people queued to sample this new delight ,I remember my Auntie Maggie , after waiting in the queue for what seemed ages buying some and the paper bag within minutes being thick with grease , this same phenomenon occurred with one particular sweet ' Cherry Lips '. I never worked out why this should be ,when other similar sweets such as 'Midget Gems' left the bag pristine. The girls on this stall wore different uniforms to other staff ,white with maid type head bands with a big red ' W' in the middle ! Using little scoops to fill the various size bags , square - 4oz , three cornered -2oz . From my observations in the 1950s I think they used more of the latter !


The favourite of children of course was The Toy Stall , with every conceivable toy you could imagine , for girls, dolls , toffee shops , cookers with little pots and pans , baking sets with rolling pins etc. The boys side of the counter , Davy Crocket Hats , which had the ability to make the hardest of lads look silly, I never had one as I could achieve that without the need of of hat with a tail swinging at the back ! Back to other boys favourites , cowboys outfits, guns of every description from rifles with corks on strings ,these would be cut at the earliest opportunity , Flash Gordon Ray Guns, Tool Sets with plastic saws and hammers , this demarcation between the sexes would have todays gender neutral brigade in a state of apoplexy, not to mention the nature verses nurture lobby . Whilst I fancied many of the toys, the thing I craved was a spirit level from the Tool Stall, after being fascinated watching a bricklayer working in our street. Mam said they were not for children and the novelty would soon ware off , this I never found out as no amount of persuasion would make her relent . Who knows if Mam had taken me seriously I might have been a wiz at D I Y !

The Tea Bar with a row of fixed stools with red seats that revolved , this was always busy not least with bus drivers and conductors having their morning or afternoon brew. Slices of toast and toasted teacakes seemed the most popular choice. I think sandwiches were also on the Bill of Fare although I can't be sure of that. Horlicks and hot milk were certainly available and I watched in amazement as the lady would go to the back of the bar to a row of silver urns, place a cup of milk under a nozzle, pull the lever down and within seconds the cup was steaming with a loud hissing sound. I used to think I'd like a try, needless to say this along with the spirt level never materialised .

Many readers will remember the big red scales with a massive face near the Standishgate entrance . There was a weight for height scale on this piece of equipment , I can remember my Aunty Maggie using the machine and looking at the table and saying according to that she ought to be 6ft-9ins, Incidentally she was about 5ft-3ins ! It strange that a printed notice could cause so much indignation. My Aunty said that was the last time she'd use them and would go instead to Bob Rudd with his 'far more reliable Jockey Scales ' in ' the little arcade ' . The scales had another use , if you 'got lost ' your Mam would tell you to stand near them . I've seen more than one child standing on the wobbly platform looking anxiously above the counters awaiting rescue !


There were also stalls of every kind Stationary, Ladies , Gents, Make Up and Toiletries . There was on one stall a place where you could test yourself for spectacles , there was a paddle about the size of a table-tennis bat with different size script .This came to an abrupt end with the Opticians Act 1958 giving opticians a monopoly, this was to last until the early 90s when 'Ready Specs ' again be came available on the high street.

A visit Woolworths would be called 'retail therapy' today , it used to be called a shopping spree both the same of course . They have to have new names for everything , passing trade becomes footfall and so-forth, whatever you call it Wigan Town Centre has never been quite the same since Woolies closed its doors for the last time ; on that day a little bit of Wigan's heart was lost too !

Hope Irene see this !

I loved going into Woolies to spend my pocket money.

Good memories its so sad how things have changed everything gone, what was the year please.

Looking at the lad with the beard and the bomber jacket i'd say mid 70s Julie

Looking back with hindsight It was definitely the beginning of the end when Woolies passed into history. It was the best store in the world.
My earliest memory was holding my mam's hand on the escalators and buying broken biscuits. My last memory of a purchase there was a beautiful polished coffee table that lasted years and years.
Another lovely informative story Tom, enough to get the wheels of the memory ' 'chugging'along again.

I don't know the reason why Woolworths in Wigan closed back in 1984. Bury was another town that lost its Woolworths early. All other towns in the north west lasted until the end in 2008 like Bolton, Leigh, Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton under Lyne, Hyde, Glossop, Buxton, Stockport, Wilmslow, Altrincham, Warrington, Manchester area, Salford, Northwich, Macclesfield, Congleton, Crewe, Winsford, Chester, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, St Helens, a few in Liverpool and Bootle, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Heswall, Hoylake, Chorley, Ormskirk, Southport, Preston, Blackburn, Clitheroe, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Rawtenstall, Blackpool, Lytham, St Annes, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal, Barrow, Ulverston, Whitehaven, Workington, Keswick, Penrith, Carlisle. Even small towns like Earlestown, Prescot, Farnworth, Walkden and Swinton lasted until the end.
Woolworths was in effect replaced by B&M and Poundland.

Mr X , this is an article I wrote in response to questions that arose from the piece above .
I hope viewers will excuse me putting 2 articles on the same photograph.
Woolworths, the reason it closed.


Following on from my article in last weeks Observer regarding Wigan's Woolworths , many have asked why did the store leave Wigan over 20 years before the group went into administration ?
Was it because Wigan had fallen out of love with Woolworths and the subsequent loss of sales made the store unprofitable ? Was it a case of 'use us or loose us' ?

Thanks to a Woolworths historian I have been in contact with I can report that none of the questions above played any part in the demise of' Our Woolies ' whatsoever . It was simple corporate greed and a clear case of asset striping. Part of the e mail I received from the source reads -   "The company owned the freehold of the iconic building as well as leasing a small amount of land for rear access. I think it was the exceptionally high value of the freehold which prompted the new owners (Paternoster, renamed Kingfisher) to close and sell the building shortly after the business changed hands in 1982,  I don't have an exact date of closure, but it was likely between 1985 and 1987 as the new owners asset stripped Woolworth to raise funds to expand the sister company and former subsidiary B&Q "

Which all goes to show that the board of the new owners didn't give fig for the staff who had served Woolworths loyally, some for decades or for the customers who supported the store for over 60 years, nor did they give a second thought to the effect closure would have on the town.
As unpalatable as it sounds, if an outlet is unprofitable and consequently is a drain on the rest of the group a case can be made to for closure for the greater good , this was clearly not the situation at Wigan.


In 1973 Prime Minister, Edward Heath referring to Tiny Rowland and the Lonrho affair , criticised the company for unsavoury business practices including asset striping ; this company was a leading light in that particular method of ' money first ideology ' in the House of Commons he went on to described events at Lonrho as "the unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism '

If ever a description fitted a situation The Prime Ministers sentiment might have been penned for the' goings on ' at Kingfisher/Woolworth in the 1980s - I'm sure the good people of Wigan will be pleased to know that it was nothing they did or did not do that had any bearing on the closure of the emporium ; rather the fate of the store was sacrificed on the altar of' Money First -People Second Mentality ! ' I've often wondered if people who take decisions based purely on profit have a conscious and if they do ,do they ever examine it ; in the middle of the night do they give a minutes consideration to Mr, Mrs, or Miss ' Smith ' from Wigan or wherever, who will lose their employment - if they have a mortgage or have children to feed ? After reading the content of the e mail mentioned I am confident the answer these questions is a resounding NO . They belong to the ' I'm alright Jack ' movement . I'm glad that I along with 99% of the population wouldn't touch that movement with a barge pole !

What interesting comments! And Thankyou, Helen, for hoping I'd see this....you know me well enough to know it's just up my street! Fantastic memories, Tom. As you know I worked in Boots until late 2007 and a gentleman who was a regular customer still called us assistants "Miss". I can still see him in my mind and I thought it was so lovely and old-fashioned, and made me feel like a girl again! I remember Hindley Woolworths well. It had a wooden floor, and some years ago Peter and I went into Woolworths in Ludlow and it was exactly the same as Hindley Woolworths used to be.....art deco handles on the doors and a wooden floor. It even SOUNDED the same! I remember Wigan Woolworths, obviously, My favourite stall was the stationery stall. I have always loved stationery and spent all my pocket money there. It was just in front of the tea stall that Tom recalls so well. I remember the sausages on a roll they sold at the tea-stall....not a hot-dog sausage but a proper one, and cups of tea in little white cups. I remember the hot salted nuts and I still have a couple of original three-cornered toffee-bags, now brown with age.
I still have some Woolies Christmas decorations and an original 1950s Woolworths fairy still graces the top of our Christmas Tree every year. I also have a book called The Wonder Of Woolies, half of which consists of the memories of customers and the other half consists of the memories of the sales staff. I can remember my Mam buying me a little blue duffel bag from Woolworths with a picture of a windmill on the front. It was 1/6d. I always thought the weighing-scales people would have made more money from the scales if the HUGE dial showing people's weight was turned AWAY from people passing.....everyone could see what you weighed! You can imagine a group of schoolboys passing as an overweight lady stood on the scales!
When we are at our caravan we often go into Skipton and there are two shops there.... The Yorkshire Trading Company and Boyes.....both Yorkshire firms and both very much like Woolworths used to be. Woolworths will always hold a special place in people's hearts and how lucky we were to have known it.

Hi Tom, I worked for Lonrho many moons ago. They bought the company , messed around with it ,
then sold it . It was a nice family company making a nice profit until they arrived . In these companies they have so many Directors , assistant Directors and other General managers and such , all doing nothing I might add , that it didn’t surprise me that they failed
with the project . They made a right pigs ear of it . I loved Woolies, it had such a lovely soul and feel about it . I don’t think you can just create that , it happens over time . Just my opinion.

As they say Tom. "Thanks for the memories " It was the individual counters, and staff that give Woolie's its character. Supermarket's caused the demise of Woolie's and a number of other shops. But at the time everyone thought they were the best things since sliced bread.

On the contrary, I found Woolworth's to be an awful shop. The Woolworth's of the twenty first century is B&M. I must say, B&M is ever so slightly better, but still awful.

I think Ron has copied this off a picture that I took in August 1974. The lad with the beard and bomber jacket was reporter Carl Brown. All the extra information from Tom and Irene was really interesting.

I think Woolworths was far more upmarket than B&M. The Cosmetic counters were better than any Chemist shop and the variety was tremendous. I loved looking for lipsticks and mascaras in there. There was an assistant on every counter to help and you paid for everything at the counter, no queuing up in the aisles like today. It was a pleasure to go shopping at weekend in those days. I only remember huge crowds on Saturdays then around Wigan and in the shops. As someone mentioned if you got lost in the crowds you could meet near the weighing machines. Going shopping these days, I can't wait to get back home!

I would say the pic was no earlier than later 1974. Those type of jackets were seen in West Germany, as it was then, whilst I was serving over there with the Royal Engineers. The jackets then became fashionable over here in the UK.

The lad leaning on the railings looks like he is wearing flared trousers they were in fashion 1970s

Another great picture.

I don't ever remember Woolworths as a child - it was always John Menzies for many many years. I could never understand why Wigan was one of the few towns not to have a Woolies - was there a dispute between them and Wigan MBC, hence why they pulled out in 1984?

Forget my last question - just read the updates in detail about why Woolies left Wigan. Very sad.

I don't know how old you are CJ but if you don't remember Woolies you missed out on an awful lot, it was Wonderland for children.

Veronica, I'm in my early 40s.

I was 6/7 when the Woolworths would have closed on Standishgate, but sadly I don't remember it. It was always a John Menzies.

I do remember the Woolies at Southport was the best one I visited - it felt like a huge department store, it remained open until the axe fell on Woolies at the end of 2008.

Remember getting paper collars in the mid sixties.lasted just one night

My Mam used to go to Woolies for all her cosmetics,I loved going in there,but I must have been a wanderer as a child because my Mam would tell me if ever I got lost to stand under the massive scales.Then as a teenager I would buy the lovely Evening in Paris perfume which we never seem to see nowadays..and also mascara was in a small flat container that housed a brush which you would dampen to rub on the mascara...lovely memories to cherish of Woolies.